What you need to know
- Google TV brings new updates to optimize storage based on user feedback.
- It includes faster loading of apps, recommendations, and preloaded content.
- Fourteen free channels are added to the Live tab in the latest update.
Google TV is receiving some significant updates alongside performance improvements, the search giant announced this week. The updates also include the Live tab, with more free channels coming to the platform.
The update improves speeds by optimizing your Google TV's memory usage to ensure users have a smoother navigating experience across the UI, while also ensuring that apps open faster. Furthermore, system apps should utilize less memory so they run lighter, and various features should run faster as a result of the optimizations.
Thus, you should notice that Google TV is better at preloading rows of movies and shows as you scroll. With the new update, Google TV search results should also appear faster than before.
One common complaint about devices like Chromecast with Google TV is the low built-in storage. With the new update, the size of preinstalled apps is also reduced during the initial setup of your Google TV to free up more storage space.
The Live tab from Google TV is another key element for seeing enhancements after the latest update. The Live tab is already home to over 800 free TV channels introduced in April, with 25 more added in August 2023. Now, the Live tab is gaining new categories: Recents and Local News.
Recents are where the users can quickly access the recently watched free channels. As the name implies, the latter provides free news channels based on your location.
There is a new row dubbed "Free live news & opinion" in your Google TV Home Screen wherein you'll notice all news channels in one place. You can find this row in the "For you" tab.
Google is also adding 14 new free channels as part of the latest update, comprising Xumo Holiday Move Channel, DraftKings, and Speedvision. This makes a total of 115 free-built channels without any subscription fee.
Lastly, to wrap up 2023, Google introduced a new Advent Calendar early this month with a daily movie recommendation until December 25, 2023. A "Holiday" category on the Live tab showcases your free holiday movie next to music channels. On the other hand, there is the "Best of 2023" section, which packs in this year's best movies, shows, and music.
